Equal Opportunities

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what analysis the Government has undertaken of the extent of caste discrimination in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	Communities and Local Government has conducted, with stakeholders, an informal scoping exercise to learn more about the extent to which some communities believe caste is a continuing social phenomenon within British society and to identify any evidence that individuals had been discriminated against on these grounds. The analysis of the responses has not yet been completed.

Fly Tipping

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what time period evidence from members of the public, on illegal dumping of waste, is retained by the Environment Agency.

Paul Murphy: The Environment Agency has a formal records management procedure which addresses retention issues. Pursuant to that procedure, the Environment Agency's Legal Services would generally retain its files relating to a contaminated land issue, under Part 2A Environmental Protection Act 1990, for five years following the conclusion of that matter. The further retention of that file would then be reviewed.

Accountancy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1658W, on department accountability, how many distinct budget lines relating to her Department's expenditure and forecasts are reported to the Treasury monthly.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the Home Office Departmental Report 2007 (Cm 7096) tables 5.2 and 5.3, pages 106 to109.
	These tables show the resource and capital budgets at departmental objective level and their constituent budgets. The number of lines shown in the tables may vary from year to year depending on departmental policy and machinery of government changes.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been allocated to the alcohol arrest referral pilots.

Vernon Coaker: The total amount of funding which has been allocated to the Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot is £600,000: £330,000 for the year 2007-08 and £270,000 for the year 2008-09.

Crime: Rural Areas

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1966W, to the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone), on crime: rural areas, how many offences were recorded by the police in rural police force areas in each year from 1997-98 to 2001-02.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total offences recorded by the police in rural police force areas( 1) 
			  Financial year  Number of offences 
			 1997-98 625,540 
			 1998-99(2) 704,144 
			 1999-2000 710,640 
			 2000-01 678,161 
			 2001-02 747,283 
			 (1) The defining of rural police force areas within England and Wales has been taken in accordance with the ACORN ('A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods') guidance as published in the Statistical Bulletin 01/02 'Rural Crime England and Wales'. The data covers 13 forces which ACORN defines as either 'most rural' (Dyfed-Powys, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and North Wales) or 'less rural' (Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Durham, Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Mercia and Wiltshire). (2 )The coverage of recorded crime was expanded in 1998-99 and figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Immigration: Ghurkhas

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rules govern applications for  (a) leave to remain and (b) British citizenship by Gurkha soldiers who completed their service (i) after and (ii) before 1 July 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 13 March 2008
	The rules applying to applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom by former Gurkhas who completed their service on or after 1 July 1997 are set out in paragraphs 276E to 276K of the Immigration Rules. This information is contained on the Border and Immigration
	Agency website at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/part7/
	Former Gurkhas who are unable to fulfil the requirements of the Immigration Rules, including those who were discharged from service before 1 July 1997, may benefit from concessionary arrangements on a case by case basis where there are strong reasons why settlement in the UK is appropriate. Guidance for dealing with these cases is contained in Immigration Directorate Instructions, chapter 15, section 2A, at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/IDIs/idischapter15/
	Gurkha soldiers who have completed their service in the British Army and wish to apply for British citizenship must make a successful application for naturalisation under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981. There is no distinction between those who enlisted before or after 1 July 1997.
	Policy requirements and procedures for handling nationality applications are available for viewing on the Border and Immigration Agency website at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/nationalityinstructions/nichapter18/

National Retail Crime Steering Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members of the National Retail Crime Steering Group are; and what its terms of reference are.

Vernon Coaker: The National Retail Crime Steering Group is chaired by myself. The members are: The British Retail Consortium, Tesco, The John Lewis Partnership, The Co-op, The Federation of Small Businesses, The Association of Convenience Stores, The Action Against Business Crime Group, The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, The Association of Chief Police Officers, The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the Home Office Business Crime Team.
	The terms of reference for the group are as follows:
	National Retail Crime Reduction Strategy focusing on reducing retail crime. It will improve the co-ordination and delivery of retail crime reduction initiatives by all stakeholders.
	1. Assess and improve the tools available to measure the scale of retail crime nationally, and encourage Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to evaluate retail crime reduction initiatives locally.
	2. Identify and document initiatives currently being undertaken by Government, police, local business crime reduction partnerships and retailers to combat business crime.
	3. Identify and promote good practice for retailers to adopt in working with Government, police and local partnerships, to reduce retail crime and the underlying causes of crime.
	4. Assess and improve local engagement between retailers and neighbourhood police, taking into account local crime reduction plans.
	5. Investigate the opportunities for improving retailer involvement in Home Office and Ministry of Justice policy development.

Police: Surveillance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police applications to covertly monitor and record conversations between defendants and their legal representatives were approved in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: The Government do not comment on such matters. However, in his recently-published report the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, the right hon. Sir Christopher Rose stated that since at least 2005 there were no such applications and that there was no reason to believe that there was any unauthorised surveillance taking place.

Terrorism

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what authorisations she has made under section 48 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary has made no such authorisations.

Theft: Metals

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the value of metal stolen in England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: No estimates are available from the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office. It is not possible to identify the number of thefts where metal was stolen. Such offences are recorded in the "Other theft" classification and cannot be separately identified from other items stolen.
	In addition, the Home Office no longer collects recorded crime statistics on the value of property stolen. This data collection ceased in the late 1990s because the data was not considered to be reliable.

Theft: Vehicles

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vehicles were  (a) reported stolen and  (b) recovered in each of the last three years, broken down by police force area.

Vernon Coaker: The available data relating to offences of theft of a motor vehicle is given in the following table. The Home Office ceased to collect data on the number of vehicles recovered in 2001-02.
	
		
			  Offences of theft of a motor vehicle recorded by the police 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset 7,070 6,280 6,108 
			 Bedfordshire 1,965 2,185 1,882 
			 British Transport Police 811 541 457 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,720 2,265 2,347 
			 Cheshire 3,599 3,503 2,935 
			 Cleveland 3,616 2,901 2,256 
			 Cumbria 1,101 1,087 948 
			 Derbyshire 2,785 2,693 2,525 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,256 3,058 3,025 
			 Dorset 1,767 1,499 1,395 
			 Durham 2,088 2,134 1,889 
			 Dyfed-Powys 727 619 588 
			 Essex 6,419 6,253 5,629 
			 Gloucestershire 1,949 1,706 1,451 
			 Greater Manchester 18,794 17,001 14,877 
			 Gwent 3,189 2,694 2,633 
			 Hampshire 4,871 4,394 4,726 
			 Hertfordshire 3,445 3,361 2,821 
			 Humberside 6,096 4,857 4,067 
			 Kent 6,181 6,438 5,650 
			 Lancashire 4,514 3,849 3,738 
			 Leicestershire 3,506 2,566 2,772 
			 Lincolnshire 1,833 1,690 1,608 
			 London, City of 97 74 75 
			 Merseyside 9,354 7,161 6,198 
			 Metropolitan Police 48,026 43,463 37,599 
			 Norfolk 1,851 1,577 1,468 
			 Northamptonshire 3,415 2,896 2,731 
			 Northumbria 5,189 4,748 3,883 
			 North Wales 1,740 1,486 1,607 
			 North Yorkshire 2,097 2,154 1,585 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,284 4,798 4,609 
			 South Wales 7,336 6,896 6,484 
			 South Yorkshire 8,005 7,648 7,481 
			 Staffordshire 3,470 3,411 3,235 
			 Suffolk 1,645 1,264 1,408 
			 Surrey 2,413 2,229 2,205 
			 Sussex 4,379 3,626 3,353 
			 Thames Valley 7,651 6,829 6,384 
			 Warwickshire 1,919 1,751 1,696 
			 West Mercia 3,179 2,629 2,340 
			 West Midlands 17,091 14,482 12,249 
			 West Yorkshire 13,961 10,455 9,469 
			 Wiltshire 1,328 1,031 1,024 
			 Total 242,732 214,182 193,410 
			  Note: Includes aggravated vehicle taking.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Disease Control

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the independent review of the safety of UK facilities handling the foot and mouth disease virus; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 February 2008
	Professor Brian Spratt's Independent Review of the safety of UK facilities handling foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus made 14 recommendations, all of which the Government accepted, agreed to or agreed to in principle.
	The recommendations in relation to immediate action on containment have all been addressed. Progress in implementing them is kept under close review through regular inspections by DEFRA and the Health and Safety Executive. In relation to the recommendations on further action on biosecurity and biosafety, the chief veterinary officer recently wrote to Merial and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) to remind them of the importance of clarity of roles, responsibilities and effective communications. Once we received assurances that sufficient mechanisms were in place, and following progress in relation to the immediate actions on containment, Merial's licence to handle specified animal pathogens was restored on 25 February 2008. DEFRA officials continue to work closely with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate about inspections at Merial.
	In relation to the recommendations on funding, design and governance, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council established the Beringer Review to seek to improve the funding, risk management and governance of the IAH. I understand that the review is expected to report in April. At present, we do not believe that further work on identifying the source of the virus would add to our understanding of the measures that need to be put in place, but we will keep that assessment under review.
	In relation to the recommendation on the regulatory and inspection framework, Sir Bill Callaghan was requested to lead a review examining ways of simplifying and strengthening the regulatory framework for animal pathogens. The review reported on 13 December. In the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) to the House in December, he accepted all the recommendations in this review and progress is being made in implementing these.
	Further detail on progress being made on each of the recommendations of the investigations into the biosecurity at Pirbright is available on the DEFRA website.

Great Western Trains

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which parliamentary constituencies contain stations through which First Great Western provide services.

Tom Harris: The following constituencies contain stations through which First Great Western currently provide services:
	Aberavon
	Aldershot
	Arundel and South Downs
	Banbury
	Basingstoke
	Bath
	Bracknell
	Brentford and Isleworth
	Bridgend
	Bridgwater
	Brighton and Kemp Town
	Bristol East
	Bristol North West
	Bristol West
	Cardiff Central
	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
	Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South
	Cheltenham
	Chichester
	Cities of London and Westminster
	Cotswold
	Crawley
	Daventry
	Devizes
	Devon East
	Dorset East
	Dorset South
	Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush
	Ealing, Southall
	Exeter
	Falmouth and Camborne
	Fareham
	Gloucester
	Guildford
	Havant
	Hayes and Harlington
	Henley
	Hereford
	Leominster
	Llanelli
	Maidenhead
	Mid Worcestershire
	Mole Valley
	Monmouth
	Neath
	Newbury
	New Forest East
	Newport East
	Newport West
	Northavon
	North Cornwall
	North Devon
	North Swindon
	North Wiltshire
	Oxford West and Abingdon
	Plymouth, Devonport
	Plymouth, Sutton
	Portsmouth North
	Portsmouth South
	Reading East
	Reading West
	Reigate
	Romsey
	St. Ives
	Salisbury
	Slough
	Somerton and Frome
	Southampton Itchen
	South East Cornwall
	South West Devon
	Stroud
	Surrey Heath
	Swansea West
	Taunton
	Teignbridge
	Tewkesbury
	Tiverton and Honiton
	Torbay
	Torridge and West Devon
	Totnes
	Truro and St. Austell
	Uxbridge
	Wansdyke
	Wantage
	Westbury
	Weston-Super-Mare
	West Worcestershire
	Windsor
	Witney
	Woking
	Wokingham
	Woodspring
	Worcester
	Worthing East and Shoreham
	Yeovil

Itis Holdings

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley of 20 February 2008,  Official Report, column 735W, on Itis Holdings, what the  (a) date and  (b) purpose was of each payment made to Itis Holdings between 1 February 2005 and 31 January 2008, broken down by source of payment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 14 March 2008
	The date, purpose and source of the payments made by the Department of Transport and its agencies to Itis Holdings Ltd. Between 1 February 2005 and 31 January 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			  Date of payment  Purpose/description  Payment made by: 
			 16 March 2005 January 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 30 March 2005 February 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 30 March 2005 January 2005 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 16 May 2005 March 2005 data for DfT(C), February and March data for HA DfT(C) 
			 11 July 2005 May 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 11 July 2005 April and May data for HA DfT(C) 
			 11 July 2005 April 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 1 September 2005 June 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 1 September 2005 June 2005 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 21 September 2005 July 2005 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 7 November 2005 August 2005 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 16 December 2005 September 2005 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 16 December 2005 October 2005 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 16 December 2005 October 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			
			 22 February 2006 December 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 22 February 2006 December 2005 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 22 February 2006 November 2005 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 22 February 2006 November 2005 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 21 March 2006 January 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 11 April 2006 February 2006 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 11 April 2006 February 2006 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 12 June 2006 March 2006 data for DfT(C) DfT(C) 
			 12 June 2006 March 2006 data for HA DfT(C) 
			 19 June 2006 April 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 17 July 2006 May 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 14 August 2006 June 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 12 September 2006 July 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 25 October 2006 August 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 8 November 2006 September 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			
			 5 January 2007 October 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 17 January 2007 November 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 16 January 2007 Origin Destination Study for HA HA 
			 21 February 2007 December 2006 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 21 March 2007 January 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 4 May 2007 February 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 25 May 2007 March 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 4 July 2007 April 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 30 July 2007 May 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 22 August 2007 June 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 26 September 2007 July 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 19 November 2007 August 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			 10 December 2007 October 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			
			 22 January 2008 November 2007 data for DfT(C) and HA DfT(C) 
			  Notes: 1. Data (as in January 2005 data for DfT(C)) refers to Global Positioning System (GPS) location data, used for congestion monitoring; 2. HA is the Highways Agency and DfT(C) is the central Department for Transport.

M6: Heysham

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Heysham/M6 Link (Northern Route) has gained programme entry status for funding.

Rosie Winterton: The proposed Heysham to M6 Link Road has yet to receive Programme Entry. In order to take a decision on Programme Entry, the Department requires confirmation that the North West region continues to support the scheme at the latest estimated cost of £140 million. In addition, Lancashire county council are currently revising their Major Scheme Business Case which will enable the Department to conclude its value for money assessment and appraisal of the scheme.

Road Traffic Control

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work her Department has carried out on traffic calming measures since 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport (DfT) provides advice, technical guidance and regulations for the installation of traffic calming. Implementation of traffic calming on local roads is a matter for local authorities.
	The Highways Agency is responsible for implementing traffic calming on its road network. Since 2005, the Highways Agency has implemented 61 road schemes incorporating traffic calming elements. A list of all the schemes has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Since 2005, the DfT has made the following regulations relating to traffic calming which are available on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) at:
	www.opsi.gov.uk
	"The Quiet Lanes and Home Zones (England) Regulations 2006" (SI 2006, No. 2082)
	"Traffic Signs (Amendment) Regulations 2006" (SI 2006, No. 2083)
	Since 2005 we have published a number of guidance documents relating to traffic calming which are available on the DfT website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk
	Since 2005, the DfT has funded the Mixed Priority Road Safety Demonstration Project, the Inner City Road Safety Demonstration Project, the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative, and the Road Safety Partnership Grant Scheme, in which safety schemes have included some traffic calming measures.
	The DfT also contributed to "Traffic Calming Techniques" Institution of Highways and Transportation and County Surveyor's Society, 2005, available from
	www.iht.org
	English Heritage and DfT worked together to produce "Streets for All" 2005, available from:
	www.english-heritage.org.uk
	a series of eight regional documents including a chapter about traffic management. The DfT also worked with English Heritage to produce a series of leaflets (including one about traffic calming) on improving streetscape in historic areas. English Heritage plan to publish the leaflets in spring 2008.

Council Tax

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much council tax was written off by local authorities in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) local authority.

John Healey: A table has been deposited in Library of the House giving details, by both region and local authority, of the amount of council tax written off by each billing authority in England in 2006-07. The data are reported annually by all billing authorities.

Eco-towns: Leicester

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many objections her Department has received by  (a) email,  (b) post and  (c) other means to the proposed Pennbury eco-town project near Leicester.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 March 2008
	We are aware that some promoters or other commentators have publicised particular proposals for eco towns. In some instances this has resulted in letters and other representations being received by the Department in relation to these statements.
	We expect to publish the shortlist of schemes identified by the preliminary sift in the near future for extensive consultation with the public, wider stakeholders and local authorities.

Equal Pay: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of Cumbria county council's legal actions contesting the national equal pay claim;
	(2)  how much Cumbria county council has spent on legal costs in contesting equal pay claims.

John Healey: In 2007-08, Communities and Local Government allocated £500 million of capitalisation directions to 46 local authorities, including Cumbria county council, to aid them in managing their equal pay back pay costs. The details of capitalisation used by each authority in 2007-08 will be published on the department's website by September 2008. Details of amounts sought or directions issued have not been published in order to avoid prejudicing ongoing negotiations.
	No estimates are available of the cost of specific legal actions undertaken by individual authorities.

Housing: Armed Forces

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether homes  (a) owned and  (b) rented by the Ministry of Defence are covered by the provisions of Public Requests to Order Disposal.

Parmjit Dhanda: Part 10 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 makes provision for the disposal of public land, including the specific public request to order disposal (PROD) power. Schedule 16 of the Act lists the specific bodies to whom Part 10 of the Act applies.
	As the Ministry of Defence is a Government Department and Government Departments are not listed in Schedule 16 of the Act, public requests to order disposal cannot be applied to any land owned by the Department.
	For a PROD to apply, the body concerned or a subsidiary of it must own a freehold or leasehold interest in the property, so any property that is rented would be excluded.

Housing: Low Incomes

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) council owned and  (b) social dwellings were sold in (i) Cornwall, (ii) the south-west and (iii) England in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: Sales of social housing are from local authorities and registered social landlords. We do not have information on other public sector housing sales. The following table shows numbers of sales to tenants by local authorities and registered social landlords through right to buy and other sales. Transfers from local authorities to registered social landlords are excluded. Figures are shown for England and the south-west region from 1998-99 to 2006-07. For Cornwall, the table includes local authority sales only, as figures for registered social landlord are not available at this level.
	
		
			  Local authority (LA) and registered social landlord (RSL) sales to tenants: right to buy (RTB) and other sales 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  England  
			 LA RTB sales 40,272 54,251 52,380 51,968 63,394 69,577 49,983 26,654 16,896 
			 RSL RTB sales 4,414 7,245 7,098 8,224 10,473 14,525 8,665 6,356 4,835 
			 Total RTB sales 44,686 61,496 59,478 60,192 73,867 84,102 58,648 33,010 21,731 
			 Other LA sales — — — — — — — — 496 
			 Other RSL sales — — — 312 396 612 700 631 936 
			   
			  South  W est region  
			 LA RTB sales 3,276 3,708 3,157 2,739 3,035 2,521 1,443 818 627 
			 RSL RTB sales(1) 700 2,010 1,770 1,400 1,230 600 340 200 140 
			 Total RTB sales 3,976 5,718 4,927 4,139 4,265 3,121 1,783 1,018 767 
			 Other LA sales — — — — — — — — 8 
			 Other RSL sales(1) — — — 50 50 40 30 20 30 
			   
			  Cornwall  
			 LA RTB sales 205 308 232 219 245 187 80 27 22 
			 (1) Estimate therefore rounded.  Sources :  P1B returns from local authorities to Communities and Local Government, and Regulatory Statistical Return and other information from registered social landlords to the Housing Corporation.

Local Authorities: Regional Planning and Development

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what her Department's policy is on local authorities which set building targets in their local development frameworks which differ from those in a regional spatial strategy;
	(2)  in what respects the new regional spatial strategies are binding on local planning authorities.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Regional Spatial Strategy provides a spatial framework that informs Development Plan Documents, which must be in general conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy.
	Development Plan Documents are tested for general conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy as part the examination of their soundness. If a Local Development Document is found to be unsound it cannot be adopted.

New Local Government Network

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answers to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield, of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 47W, on New Local Government Network, if she will  (a) list the value and purpose of each of the 10 payments and  (b) the research which the department commissioned.

John Healey: The information is as follows.
	
		
			   Purpose  £ 
			 7 August 2002 Conference attendance fees 514.90 
			 2 May 2003 Conference attendance fees 587.50 
			 8 August 2003 One of four payments for research project into making choices in the use of public services 5,875.00 
			 9 January 2004 One of four payments for research project into making choices in the use of public services 5,875.00 
			 20 January 2004 Conference attendance fees 47.00 
			 13 February 2004 One of four payments for research project into making choices in the use of public services 5,875.00 
			 8 March 2004 One of four payments for research project into making choices in the use of public services 5,875.00 
			 25 April 2006 Local Government White Paper consultation event on Neighbourhoods and Democracy 8,267.00 
			 20 March 2007 Purchase of published Regions Report 216.00 
			 1 November 2007 Purchase of published report into Councils Embracing Localism 20.00

Fireworks: Regulation

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provisions of the Fireworks Act 2003; and whether he plans to introduce further restrictions on over-the-counter sale of fireworks.

Gareth Thomas: h olding answer 15 January 2008
	I expect the Act and Fireworks Regulations 2004 to be covered within the review of Consumer Safety legislation next year.
	I have no plans to introduce further restrictions on over the counter sales.

Fireworks: Regulation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  whether the Government plan to restrict further the sale of fireworks; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if the Government will  (a) consider a public ban on fireworks within the category 3 noise limit and  (b) take steps to further reduce the decibel limit of category 3.

Gareth Thomas: I expect the Firework Act and Regulations (2004) to be covered within the review of consumer safety legislation next year.
	I have no further plans to put further restrictions on over the counter sales.

NHS Dentistry

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of levels of access to NHS dentistry.

Ben Bradshaw: Recent data shows that 27.6 million people saw an NHS dentist at least once in the 24 months ending September 2007.
	We are committed to increasing access to NHS dentistry, and have made this a requirement for PCTs in the NHS Operating Framework. We are increasing dental funding by 11 per cent.

Seroxat

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of data from clinical trials of the drug Seroxat.

Dawn Primarolo: As per the written ministerial statement of 6 March 2008,  Official Report, column 121WS, I informed the House of the outcome of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency investigation into Glaxosmithkline withholding relevant information gathered in clinical trials on seroxat. In the interests of public health it is important that all relevant data gathered in clinical trials of medicines is submitted promptly to the regulator.

General Practitioners

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of UK residents not registered with a GP; and whether a recent assessment has been made of the reasons.

Ben Bradshaw: This data is not collected centrally by the Department.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north-east and  (d) England were seen by out-of-hours GP services in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may therefore wish to approach the chief executive of South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) for information on numbers of patients seen by out of hours general practitioner services.
	PCTs now have a legal responsibility to ensure that they provide, or secure provision of out of hours services for their local population.

Health Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GP practices,  (b) dental practices,  (c) ophthalmic practices and  (d) pharmacies there were in (i) England and (ii) each English region in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of general practitioner (GP) practices and GPs, excluding retainers and registrars, in each strategic health authority (SHA) and all of England on 30 September in 2005 to 2007, which is the latest data available.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			   GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)  GP practices  GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)  GP practices  GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)  GP practices 
			 England 32,738 8,451 33,091 8,325 33,364 8,261 
			
			 North East 1,726 404 1,815 396 1,779 394 
			 North West 4,311 1,303 4,392 1,285 4,436 1,272 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,372 826 3,386 817 3,460 807 
			 East Midlands 2,573 630 2,570 621 2,656 627 
			 West Midlands 3,357 989 3,390 968 3,432 965 
			 East of England 3,510 802 3,568 778 3,510 769 
			 London 4,896 1,591 4,868 1,579 4,953 1,546 
			 South East Coast 2,641 649 2,684 638 2,700 644 
			 South Central 2,543 511 2,611 500 2,638 503 
			 South West 3,809 746 3,807 743 3,800 734 
			  Notes: 1. Data as at 30 September 2005-2007. 2. Historical data prior to 2006 has been mapped to new SHA areas to provide estimates for comparability.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care. General and personal medical services statistics. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of nation health service dental practices with an open general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) contract in England, by SHA, as at 31 March 2004 to 2006. The number of dental practices in each SHA and all of England is based upon the old dental contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) Dental Services Division (DSD) can only provide validated information on the number of NHS dental practices at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 England 8,922 8,908 9,015 
			 East Midlands 612 626 633 
			 East of England 927 926 935 
			 London 1,486 1,483 1,502 
			 North East 401 401 395 
			 North West 1,217 1,224 1,246 
			 South Central 755 761 771 
			 South East Coast 864 854 860 
			 South West 939 923 940 
			 West Midlands 891 890 905 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 830 820 828 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are based on the numbers of dentists with open GDS or PDS contracts. 2. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the SHA. 3. Data include all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS, received by the NHS BSA, up to 24 July 2006.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care. NHS BSA DSD. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of NHS general ophthalmic services practitioners premises, by SHA, in England as at 31 December 2006, which is the latest year currently available. England totals are also provided for 2004 and 2005.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 England 5,795 5,790 5,748 
			 East Midlands n/a n/a 497 
			 East of England n/a n/a 567 
			 London n/a n/a 864 
			 North East n/a n/a 262 
			 North West n/a n/a 851 
			 South Central n/a n/a 413 
			 South East Coast n/a n/a 457 
			 South West n/a n/a 580 
			 West Midlands n/a n/a 642 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber n/a n/a 615 
			 n/a = Not applicable (regional breakdown for 2004 and 2005 is currently not available)  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of community pharmacies in contract with primary care trusts, by SHA, in England as at 31 March 2005 to 2007, which is the latest data available.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 England 9,736 9,872 10,133 
			 East Midlands 749 759 785 
			 East of England 940 953 986 
			 London 1,742 1,738 1,762 
			 North East 508 514 527 
			 North West 1,475 1,498 1,551 
			 South Central 641 651 660 
			 South East Coast 754 767 787 
			 South West 895 916 929 
			 West Midlands 1,063 1,080 1,110 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 969 996 1,036 
			  Note: The SHAs were reorganised in July 2006 and data for 2007 is as published. The data for 2005 and 2006, originally published in the 28 old SHAs has been combined to give the best estimate of figures for the new 10 SHAs.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care. The General Pharmaceutical Services (Annual Bulletin) 2006-07.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1078W, on influenza, whether the final uptake data for the season 2007-08 seasonal influenza campaign is now available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested has been placed in the Library. The final uptake data for 2007-08 seasonal flu campaign is also available at:
	www.immunisation.nhs.uk/Vaccines/Flu/Vaccine/Influenza_vaccine_uptake_results_by_age_and_PCT

Lancashire Ambulance Trust: Standards

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times the Lancashire Ambulance Trust did not meet its target call-out time in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the available performance data for the North West Ambulance Service Trust is shown in the following table.
	Data held on ambulance services is already published in the publication: "Ambulance Services, England 2006-07" which is available in the Library.
	
		
			  Emergency incidents: response times by ambulance service and category A call, in North West Ambulance trust 2006-07 
			   England  North West 
			 Total number of incidents with emergency response (thousand) 1,795.8 277.7 
			 Total number of incidents with emergency response within eight minutes (thousand) 1,340.3 201.8 
			 Response within eight minutes (percentage) 74.6 72.7 
			  Source: Form KA34, the Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Emergency incidents: response times by ambulance service and category B call in the North West, 2006-07 
			   England  North West 
			 Total number of incidents with ambulance vehicle arriving (thousand) 2,378.9 351.5 
			 Response within 19 minutes (percentage) 90.5 91.2 
			  Note: For 2006-07 the 14/19 minute response times were dropped with the urban/rural split and replaced with 19 minutes for all trusts.  Source: Form KA34, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Mental Health Services: Admissions

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rates of  (a) medium and  (b) high security mental health beds were in each mental health trust in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the form requested. Data is collected on the numbers of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds, available and occupied, in NHS units. The data is not broken down by mental health trusts and does not include independent sector beds.
	Data on the average daily number of mental health secure unit beds, and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units in England over the last five years is set out in the table:
	
		
			  Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Available Mental Illness 2,064 2,569 2,696 2,807 2,993 
			 Occupancy Mental Illness n/a 2,378 2,472 2,545 2,722 
			 Available Learning Disability 508 514 503 526 516 
			 Occupancy Learning Disability n/a 470 484 502 489 
			 n/a = not available (1 )The definitions of Mental Health and Learning Disability Secure Unit Beds, for the purposes of the KH03 annual beds collection, are:  Mental illness—other ages, Secure unit An Age Group Intended of National Code 8 'Any age', a Broad Patient Group Code of National Code 5 'Patients with mental illness' and a Clinical Care Intensity of National Code 51 'for intensive care: specially designated ward for patients needing containment and more intensive management. This is not to be confused with intensive nursing where a patient may require one to one nursing while on a standard ward'.  Learning disabilities—other ages, Secure unit An Age Group Intended of National Code 8 'Any age', a Broad Patient Group Code of National Code 6 'Patients with learning difficulties' and a Clinical Care Intensity of National Code 61 'designated or interim secure unit'.  Source: (1)( )Department of Health Dataset KH03. 
		
	
	In addition to this data, service level agreements provide information on the number of high secure beds commissioned for the last five years. This is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of high secure beds commissioned by NHS 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Ashworth 436 436 278 295 270 
			 Broadmoor 408 360 408 416 273 
			 Rampton 459 427 388 379 413

Palliative Care: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data is used by commissioners to determine the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Barnsley PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
	The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
	Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the "National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions" outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the framework is available in the Library.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Young People

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many under 17-year-olds were diagnosed with a sexually-transmitted infection in England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Age specific data are not collected centrally and are only available by age groups. The following table shows the total number of new diagnoses of selected sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in under 16s and 16 to 19-year-olds in England.
	
		
			  T otal number of new diagnoses of selected STIs in under 16s and 16 to 19-year-olds in genitor-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England; 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			   Under 16  16-19  Under 16  16-19  Under 16  16-19  Under 16  16-19  Under 16  16-19 
			 Uncomplicated chlamydial infection 1,115 20,072 1,372 22,486 1,367 24,698 1,314 25,344 1,327 25,658 
			 Uncomplicated gonorrhoea 340 4,906 322 4,737 261 4,271 230 3,391 193 3,348 
			 Primary and secondary infectious syphilis 3 43 3 51 3 61 17 102 8 100 
			 Anogenital herpes simplex - first attack 149 2,322 151 2,369 142 2,462 140 2,563 144 3,017 
			 Anogenital warts - first attack 552 11,278 574 11,929 584 12,924 514 13,235 621 13,973 
			  Notes:  1. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as General Practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with chlamydia several times in one year and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 3. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data. 4. Data is not yet available for 2007. 5. Data is only collected by age for the five main STIs.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people appealed against tax credit overpayments  (a) successfully and  (b) unsuccessfully in each year since 2003.

Jane Kennedy: This information is not available.
	Customers can contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to appeal if they think their tax credits award is wrong. Information concerning appeals can be found in the HMRC leaflet WTC/AP "How to appeal against a tax credits decision or award" which is available on the internet at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc_ap.pdf
	A decision to recover an overpayment does not carry the right of appeal. For information on the number of appeals received in each year since 2003, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) and the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 371-72W.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were serving in  (a) Iraq,  (b) Afghanistan,  (c) the United Kingdom and  (d) elsewhere at the latest date for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 17 March 2008
	The following table shows the number of UK Service personnel deployed on operations by location at 10 March 2008. The number of personnel in theatre will naturally fluctuate on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces and other factors.
	
		
			  Number of personnel deployed by location( 1) 
			  Location  Number 
			 Total 13,460 
			  of which:  
			 Afghanistan 7,600 
			 Iraq 3,800 
			 At Sea 710 
			 Qatar 410 
			 Cyprus 280 
			 Kuwait 260 
			 Oman 190 
			 Kosovo 130 
			 Bahrain 70 
			 Bosnia 10 
			 Other 30 
			 (1) Countries with 10 or more personnel are shown separately. Other countries with fewer than 10 personnel per country include Georgia, Nepal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Figures for the number of UK regular forces stationed in locations worldwide can be found in Tri-Service Publication 10 (TSP10) copies of which are available in the Library of the House; the latest available data is at 1 April 2007 and can also be found at: http://www.dasa.mod.uk/publications/tsp10/tsp10execsum.html

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2550W, on armed forces: housing, what proportion of single living accommodation in each of the named countries is used only during operational deployment.

Derek Twigg: With the exception of the 6,119 single living accommodation (SLA) bed-spaces in the Falkland and Ascension Islands that are all used as accommodation for Service personnel on operational deployment. The Department does not count bed-spaces used in operational theatre and therefore were not included in my answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2550W.

Active Places Website

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who is responsible for compiling the data on the Active Places website; and how much the website cost to maintain in 2007-08.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 March 2008
	Sport England collects and publishes details of sports facilities in England on the Active Places database. The data is updated by two organisations: Landmark for grass pitches; and the Leisure Database Company for all other facilities on the database.
	The budget for 2007-08 is £1.1 million which is being used to fund data maintenance, data acquisition, systems development and hosting.

Licensing: Kent

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licences to sell alcohol have been  (a) granted and  (b) renewed in North Kent in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prior to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, data on the number of alcohol licences and certificates granted and renewed in England and Wales under the Licensing Act 1964 was collected by petty sessional divisions (magistrates court areas) on a triennial basis, in accordance with the three yearly cycle of licence renewals. The last available data in relation to the 1964 Act were published in 2004. These indicated that 172,167 premises and 8,274 registered clubs had their licences renewed or granted respectively in that year. It is not possible to break this number down regionally, but the number of licences granted or renewed in Kent was as follows:
	
		
			  Petty session division  Total number of on and off premises 
			 Canterbury and St. Augustine 431 
			 Channel 1,148 
			 Dartford and Gravesend 484 
			 Faversham and Sittingbourne 414 
			 Medway 690 
			 Mid Kent 611 
			 Thanet 553 
			 West Kent 1,047 
		
	
	The first Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment licences and certificates issued under the Licensing Act 2003, was published on the DCMS website on 8 November 2007 and shows the number of licences granted and in force as at 31 March 2007. The following table shows the number of licences and certificates granted in 2006-07 and the number of licences in force. It should be noted that the figures cover all premises licences and certificates issued under the 2003 Act and will include some that do not allow the sale of alcohol.
	Personal licences issued under the 2003 Act are renewed every 10 years. There is no renewal process for premises licences and certificates issued under the 2003 Act.
	
		
			   Premises licences and club premises certificates  Personal licences 
			  Licensing authority  Number granted in 2006-07  All licences( 1)  Alcohol licences( 1)  Number granted in 2006-07  Total number in force as at 31 March 2007 
			 Ashford 28 342 321 146 692 
			 Canterbury 89 664 588 165 981 
			 Dartford 15 294 (2)71 125 571 
			 Dover 37 386 313 124 818 
			 Gravesham 71 314 243 207 588 
			 Maidstone 40 493 443 174 866 
			 Medway (3)— 785 (2)207 556 1,350 
			 Sevenoaks 22 407 342 89 230 
			 Shepway 22 422 320 198 717 
			 Swale (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Thanet 62 579 492 137 1,027 
			 Tonbridge and Malling 14 376 331 117 699 
			 Tunbridge Wells 31 362 293 115 658 
			 (1) Number in force as at 31 March 2007 (2) Some of licensing authorities double counted the number of premises with an alcohol licence when providing a figure for different types of alcohol permission (eg "on-sales only" or "both on and off sales"). Amendments were made to these so that the total number of alcohol licensed premises was no more than the total number of premised licences, but some LAs may still have over-reported the number of premises licences and certificates with authorised sale of alcohol. (3) Data not supplied

Swimming Pools

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many swimming pool complexes in England there are; and how many of them have a diving pool.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 10 March 2008
	Sport England collects and publishes details of sports facilities in England on the Active Places database. There are currently over 70,000 sports facilities recorded on the database and the data is reviewed and updated on a regular basis. To ensure that robust year on year data comparisons about sports facilities can be made, Sport England records formally the overall position each year in November.
	The Active Places database records that, as at November 2007, there were 4,614 swimming pools on 3,461 sites in England. Of these, 168 pools have diving facilities. Their status is recorded as follows:
	Open—143;
	Under construction—one;
	Temporarily closed for refurbishment or seasonal reasons—24.
	Of the 168 pools, 58 have purpose-built diving pools, sometimes referred to as diving 'tanks' or 'pits'.
	I understand that Sport England has written to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent recently providing a detailed breakdown of all the diving facilities recorded on the Active Places database.

Departmental Official Residences

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many ministerial residences were available to his Department's Ministers in each of the last 10 years.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 688W.

Disabled: Equal Opportunities

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government take to monitor compliance with equal opportunities legislation in the employment of disabled people by television and broadcasting companies and makers of television programmes.

Anne McGuire: My Department undertakes regular research on how employers and service providers are meeting their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The latest research report, ("Organisations' Responses to the Disability Discrimination Act" - DWP Research Report 410(1)), which was published in 2007, provided data on whether organisations had employed disabled people; broken down by the size of employer and whether the organisations were from the public, private or voluntary sector. It did not, however, monitor specific types of industry, such as television and broadcasting. The research shows that, overall, 47 per cent. of all the establishments surveyed reported having employed at least one disabled member of staff within the past 10 years, and 34 per cent. said that they employed at least one disabled person at the time of the survey.
	The Labour Force Survey provides quarterly statistics on the employment rates disabled people, and provides a breakdown by industry sector. For example, the survey for the period October to December 2007 shows that, of disabled people in work, 7.64 per cent. were employed in the 'Transport, Storage and Communication' sector. However, data for this sector cannot be broken down further by individual types of communication, such as television and broadcasting.
	The broadcasting regulatory regime includes obligations on radio and television broadcasters to promote equal opportunities in employment on the basis of gender, race and disability. The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, monitors and reports on broadcasters' compliance with the obligations.
	(1) This report may be accessed at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep410.pdf

Pension Credit: Expenditure

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the distribution by household income quintile of the expenditure arising from pension credit in each year since its introduction.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the expenditure on pension credit by equivalised income quintile on an after housing cost basis is set out in the following table for available years. These figures are rounded to the nearest £50 million.
	
		
			  Expenditure on pension credit by equivalised income quintile across all individuals, 2004-05 to 2005-06 
			  £ million, after housing costs 
			   Bottom quintile  Second quintile  Middle quintile  Fourth quintile  Top quintile  Total 
			 2004-05 1,200 2,150 1,500 1,050 150 5,971 
			 2005-06 1,150 2,450 1,450 1,150 200 6,426 
			  Notes:  1. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003. This means data is available only for 2004-05 and 2005-06.  2. All figures are shown in nominal terms (i.e. not adjusted for inflation).  3. The information shown is for Great Britain.  4. Shares of benefit expenditure by quintile according to the Family Resources Survey have been applied to administrative data to derive a split by quintile. Administrative data totals are available to the nearest million pounds, while information based on survey data is presented rounded to the nearest £50 million.  5. The Family Resources Survey is known to undercount receipt of certain benefits. This methodology assumes that this undercount is spread proportionally across quintiles. For example, if 30 per cent. of expenditure is in a certain quintile, this assumes 30 per cent. of any undercount is also in that quintile.  6. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication "Households Below Average Income" series.  7. The quintiles are derived using OECD equivalisation factors. 
		
	
	The relatively low level of expenditure in the bottom quintile is partly explained by the low proportion of pensioners in that quintile, with only 15 per cent. of pensioners in the bottom quintile of incomes across all individuals. Many pensioners are moved out of this quintile by pension credit and other benefits, so expenditure in the lowest quintile is expected to be relatively low.

Prisoners: Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in England and Wales have  (a) applied for and  (b) received student loans in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, made a Statement to the House on 7 February. In it he stated that he would endeavour to make further relevant information available to the House prior to any debate on the revised regulations.